welcome to bbc news, i'm james reynolds. our top stories: the yeas are 50, the nays are 49. the bill is amended and passed. by a single vote, the us senate point 9 trillion dollar covid relief plan. pope francis holds an unprecedented meeting with iraq's top shia religious leader, before going onto celebrate mass at a cathedral in baghdad. allegations of police brutality, as security forces in myanmar use stun grenades and tear gas against anti—coup protesters. dozens are reported dead in yemen, as fighting takes place for control of the oil—rich city of marib.

and, parts of iceland are shaken by a series of mini earthquakes, causing fears that a dormant volcano may be about to erupt. president biden has described the senate's approval of his coronavirus relief bill as one more giant step forward in helping americans to deal with the impact of the pandemic. the package, which is worth nearly two trillion dollars will provide one—off payments to millions of people. republican senators were united in opposing the bill. our washington correspondent lebo diseko reports. the yeas are 50. the nays are 49. the bill as amended is passed. a vote on party lines gavejoe biden the victory he needed in the senate, after a marathon session lasting more than 2a hours. this is his first major piece

of legislation as president — a package, he says, is necessary to turn the toll of the pandemic around. this plan puts us on a path to beating the virus. this plan gives those families who are struggling the most the help and the breathing room they need to get through this moment. this plan gives small businesses in this country a fighting chance to survive. and one more thing — this plan is historic. the bill will help fund payments for the unemployed. last month's job gains are still too slow, says the president, with the country still down 9.5 million since this time last year. money, too, to speed up production and distribution of vaccines — the hope being that that will help significantly increase the 10% of americans who've been fully immunised. but republicans say the cost is too high, and they were united in their opposition with not one voting in favour of the bill. voters picked a president who promised unity and bipartisanship.

democrats' response is to ram through what they call, quote, "the most progressive domestic legislation in a generation" on a razor—thin majority in both houses. there was criticism, too, from within the democrats' own ranks which almost derailed the bill — all of this an indication of how difficult it will be for president biden to fulfil his agenda. the bill has been substantially changed since it passed in the house of representatives, so it will go back there for a vote on tuesday. democrats are racing to get it signed by the president by m march, when key unemployment benefits expire. lebo diseko, bbc news, washington. i'm joined now by robert reich, who was labour secretary under president bill clinton, and is the author of "the system: who rigged it, how we fix it".

mr secretary, welcome. is this a bill which is simply about getting through the worst of the pandemic, or is it a bill that potentially restructu res the way america deals with unemployment and poverty? it ideally is going to be both. the billjust deals, right now, with the pandemic. it is a one year bill, but democrats hope that many of the provisions in the bill, including particularly those that deal with poverty, are going to be permanent. with poverty, are going to be permanent-— permanent. tells about the child aspect of it. _ permanent. tells about the child aspect of it. the - permanent. tells about the l child aspect of it. the united states has — child aspect of it. the united states has an _ child aspect of it. the united states has an extraordinary i states has an extraordinary problem with child poverty. approximately one out of five children in america is under the poverty line, meaning that child really does not have, and that family does not have enough food to provide a nutritious meal for every meal that the child needs and doesn't really have security

with regard the place, the housing or the home in which that family and that child resides. child property is a huge blemish on the united states. what this bill does is it reduces child poverty by about 50%. it cuts overall poverty by about one third. this is landmark legislation, if it is made permanent. e if it is made permanent. '5 interest democrats said some things from the health bill had to go including mention of a raise in the federal minimum wage. was that a good concession? i wage. was that a good concession?— wage. was that a good concession? ., �* ~ concession? i don't think it was a good _ concession? i don't think it was a good concession, - concession? i don't think it was a good concession, it i concession? i don't think it i was a good concession, it was concession? i don't think it - was a good concession, it was a necessary concession to get certain conservative democrats on board, such asjoe mention and also to be able to get the bill through the senate on a particular procedure called reconciliation, which sounds fairly fancy. itjust means that you don't need 60 votes in

order to pass a major piece of legislation, because it is budget related. joe biden is going to have to deal with this lurking question, and that is, how do you deal with the 60 vote requirement for major legislation, called a filibuster, when you have such a narrow, razorthin filibuster, when you have such a narrow, razor thin majority? 0nly a narrow, razor thin majority? only one vote in the senate. if he wants to get the rest of his agenda through, and i think they's vote reveals the extent to which the republicans are willing to be a united front against biden, he is probably going to have two join against biden, he is probably going to have twojoin or against biden, he is probably going to have two join or prod the democratic senators to get rid of that filibuster rule. what have we learned about the president's view of the economy?— president's view of the economy? president's view of the econom ? , ., , economy? the president really does, economy? the president really does. and _ economy? the president really does. and i _ economy? the president really does, and i obviously - economy? the president really does, and i obviously can't - does, and i obviously can't speak for the does, and i obviously can't speakfor the president does, and i obviously can't speak for the president but from everything i see and here,

believes the economy can, really, stand much more stimulus, much more government spending, and this is a matter of some dispute among economists. i can tell you that my view is that the economy is functioning so much under its capacity, in terms of so many millions of americans who are not at work, so many who are working part—time who would rather be working full—time, and so many people who have dropped out of the labour force altogether. that a stimulus of this kind of magnitude will not, i don't believe, generate inflation. that is the big fear, that is the big worry, but i don't see any sign of it, and it is more important, i think, and this is a point that has been made by the president and also akrotiri of the treasury janet yellen, is and also akrotiri of the treasuryjanet yellen, is more

important treasury janet yellen, is more important to air treasuryjanet yellen, is more important to air on treasury janet yellen, is more important to air on the treasuryjanet yellen, is more important to air on the side of getting peoplejobs and making sure they survive then are on the side of avoiding inflation. thank you very much. pope francis has met the influential shia muslim cleric, grand ayatollah ali al—sistani, during the first—ever papal visit to iraq. later, francis celebrated a public mass at stjoseph's cathedral in baghdad. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen is travelling with the pope. peace in iraq will take time to flourish, but this visitor is determined to see it. along the narrow alleyways of najaf, and into a historic meeting of two faiths, catholic and shia islam. grand ayatollah ali al—sistani face—to—face with pope francis. at 90 and 84, it's taken long lives and generations to get here. the two religious leaders spoke

of friendship to overcome oppression, rare unity after iraq's sectarian conflict. that theme of dialogue then spread further to the remains of ur, biblical birthplace of abraham. and in the shadow of its ancient citadel, pope francis met followers of other faiths. gestures of respect to those often sidelined, and victims of iraq's wars now brought together in a plea for peace. translation: hostility, - extremism and violence are not born of a religious heart. they are betrayals of religion. we believers cannot be silent when terrorism abuses religion. from these windswept plains, the pope is using the symbolism of the ancient prophet, evoking the figure of abraham, revered by christians, muslims and jews, to try to spur reconciliation between religions today. and then it was on to mass, pope francis hoping to persuade

a dwindling christian community to remain. iraq's patchwork of people came together today. but as this country knows too well, the spirit of coexistence can quickly fade. mark lowen, bbc news, in ur, iraq. to myanmar now, where an increasingly brutal crackdown by police and the military has not stopped protests against the military coup. security forces have continued firing tear gas on protesters gathered in yangon. the un's special envoy on myanmar has told the security council that there is "urgency for collective action". danny howard has this report. this is a scene that's become all too familiar in cities right across myanmar, from the northern mountain region to the major cities of yangon and naypyidaw in the south, young protesters have been standing up to police, banging on home—made shields, and marching for democracy.

on saturday, security forces used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades against activists in yangon to clear the streets. and there have been further allegations of police brutality. it's been over a month now since the protests erupted against the military coup on february 1st that overthrew aung san suu kyi's elected government. in that time, the people of myanmar have faced internet blackouts, night—time raids, unlawful arrests and death. 38 people were killed on wednesday alone, the deadliest day since the start of the coup. hundreds gathered in mandalay on thursday for the funeral of one of the victims. kyal sin, who was known as �*angel�*, wasjust i9 when she was shot in the head during anti—coup protests a day earlier. she was wearing a t—shirt with the phrase "everything will be ok" when she died. the pressure is being felt globally. on friday, the un special envoy to myanmar, christine schraner burgener, urged the security council to hear myanmar�*s desperate pleas, and called for swift international action to end the violence.

everyone has a role to play. there are no bystanders here, whether it's the secretary general, whether it's the security council as a whole, or whether it individual member states, those who have an influence on the situation in myanmar, whether it's the regional powers, the asean countries, everyone has a role to play. but china and russia and unlikely to impose sanctions, and so far, the biggest international reaction has come from corporations, not governments. facebook, instagram and now youtube have all banned accounts belonging to militaryjunta. the army have threatened civil servants who continue to strike that they will be fired. but the protests show little sign of waning. every day, people continue to raise three fingers in protest in what has become a symbol of resistance and solidarity for democracy movements across south—east asia. myanmar�*s military has said

it is used to being isolated. so, can the international community exert any pressure on the junta? a question i put to tom andrews, the un's special rapporteur on human rights in myanmar. they have said forever that they are — they can go on their own, they're impervious to international pressure, but what we've found from history is that's not true. that in fact, the reforms, the democratic reforms that we've seen overturned by this junta by february one were reforms that were created precisely because tough economic sanctions were applied on thejunta. they, and the generations following — the older generations of generals, they want to make money, they want to be part of the international economy. so there was pressure building from within the military to engage with the world so that they could be able to prosper. so, they conceded they had some reforms, modest reforms, but they were reforms.

the point is, they reacted, they responded to economic pressure, i believe that they can and they will again now. let's look at international action. if china blocks or slows down action inside the un, would you suggest individual states to carry out their own measures? no question, no question. there are 41 countries, for example, that have some form of arms embargo, i think we have to increase that number. and also, sanctions, tough, clear economic sanctions. there with 35 countries with some form of economic sanctions already in place. but they're a hodgepodge, they're a wide variety, we need to focus those sanctions. we have to make sure they are clear, tough and co—ordinated, they work together, so that the collective weight of these countries that are imposing these sanctions will have the strongest possible punch. now, ideally, it's the security council that will be doing this, and they could also make reference to the international criminal court, that could investigate, prosecute, that could put those who are responsible for these atrocities behind bars. but until we can get a unified response by

the security council, there are a number of things that individual countries can do, and the best thing they can do is work together. 30 to a0 countries out of, what, 200, taking steps is nowhere close to a global arms embargo? that's exactly right. and we have a lot of work to do. but if you look at what is going on, on the streets of myanmar right now, you see exactly why it is so compelling for countries to take action. the aggressiveness of this and the brutality of these troops continues to escalate. there is video right now that we've been getting from different parts of the country, in which soldiers are marauding around neighbourhoods and literally firing into homes. and you can see them walking down the street in yangon, firing up through the windows as people look in horror down in the streets. these are gangs. this is criminal activity. they're terrorising these neighbourhoods. so, there is a compelling

reason for the world to act and for the world to act now. and you are right, we have a long way to go, but it's worth it. because we simply can't afford in any sense of the word to sit back and turn our backs on the people of myanmar. let's look at the biden administration and the us approach. from what we can tell in the first few weeks, the foreign policy of the biden administration stresses realism and caution. there is an overt promise not to engage in over—ambitious foreign interventions. does this mean we are unlikely to see the us take any kind of extraordinary steps with myanmar? well, they have taken some very important steps. the biden administration right out of the gate applied some — a new round of sanctions, the president was very clear that this was the first of many steps he was prepared to take to build pressure on the regime. they had an asset freeze, the money that is in us

financial institutions and froze them, over $1 billion worth, that takes an immediate bite. so the fact the biden administration has acted quickly, they stepped quickly out of the gate, i think is a very positive step. now we need to see other nations follow. let's get some of the day's other news. protesters have rallied in tokyo to express their opposition to japan's hosting of the olympic games which are due to begin injuly. they think it's irresponsible to hold the event before japanese 0lympic organisers have insisted the games will go ahead, but they've hinted that overseas fans might not be allowed into the country to watch. lebanon's caretaker prime minister has warned that the country is on �*the brink of an explosion�*, as its dire economic plight worsens. in a television address, he referred to an incident in which supermarket shoppers in beirut fought over powdered milk supplies. lebanon has been hit by a severe financial crisis and political deadlock, following the beirut port explosion last year which devastated much of the capital. you are watching bbc news, the headlines: the us senate passes joe biden�*s $1.9 trillion covid relief plan, by a single vote. the president says the package

will beat the virus, and cut poverty. pope francis holds an unprecedented meeting with iraq's top shia religious leader, before going onto celebrate mass at a cathedral in baghdad. reports from yemen say dozens of people have died in 2a hours of fighting between government forces and houthi rebels, who are battling for control of the northern city of marib. the rebels, who are supported by iran, want to drive out the saudi—backed government in marib. mark lobel reports. these scenes shot last month show pro—government forces have been defending the area around marib from houthi rebels for some time. now it appears to be under heavy attack again. military sources report a frenetic 2a hours, with around 30 deaths on the government side, and nearly 60 rebels

killed in air strikes. marib is strategically important, after heavy investment from the yemeni government. it is also a rich gateway to oil and gas production. it would be a massive blow to the yemeni government if they lost control of the city. they already had to effectively cede control of yemen's second city, in aden, to the southern separatists. and this really means that marib is the last major city in yemen that they really control. the timing of this latest onslaught may be highly political. since taking office, the biden administration has called for an end to the war in yemen with an immediate ceasefire to restore peace talks between the saudi—backed government and the houthi rebels supported by iran. these military commanders, in public, have stated that they plan to fully push on the city, that they are not going to hold back, that they are going to push

to marib and beyond. but it remains to be seen if they will do that, or if they will push right to the outskirts of the city before then realising this is the best position for them, to then go into any kind of peace talks or political talks with the saudi—led coalition and the yemeni government. the fighting also threatens hundreds of thousands of displaced yemenis, living on precarious floodplains and with limited access to fresh water, now in danger of displacement. all potentially worsening the world's worst humanitarian disaster, now into its seventh year of devastating conflict. mark lowen, bbc news. lawyers and the family of a black american man who died while in police custody have been speaking about a major police reform package that bans choke holds and combats racial profiling. the george floyd justice in policing act cleared the us house of representatives on wednesday, and will now head to the senate. the trial of derek chauvin, a white officer charged

with murdering george floyd, is due to begin in minnesota on monday. at a press conference earlier for the newjustice in policing act, george floyd's nephew said derek chauvin must be held accountable. i think when you look at my uncle's murder, a police officer kneeling on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, we have to hold him accountable. either he's a murderer, or he's not qualified to do his job correctly. either way, someone needs to be held accountable. there's no way that a police officer getting a call on an alleged counterfeit $20 bill, and a man i loved, one of ours, is murdered — for 20 us dollars? someone needs to be held accountable. there is growing concern among

scientists in iceland that a volcano which has lay dormant for 800 years is set to erupt, after the country was hit by an intense series of earthquakes. more than 20,000 have been recorded in the past ten days. the eruption of a southern iceland volcano in 2010 sparked huge disruption to international air travel, affecting 10 million travellers. isabella allen reports. i think when you look at my uncle's murder, 32 kilometres south of the icelandic capital lies mt keilir on the reykjanes peninsula. the last major eruption here happened eight centuries ago, but that period of rest may be coming to an end, after days of intense seismic activity. normally there are around 1000 small earthquakes a year. but there have been more than 20,000 in the past ten days, including 3000 on friday alone, leading scientists to believe an eruption is imminent. the magma is fracturing, and it is so close to the surface, two or three kilometres away from the surface, that we have to take it seriously, the possibility that a new eruption can occur. the close vicinity is

uninhabited and there is no immediate danger to the public, but roads have been closed and people are being told not to travel to the area. the small fishing port of grindavik is only a few miles away. well, the feeling is never enjoyable, i can tell you that for sure. of course when mother nature is, like, shaking underneath your feet, you feel powerless. but i have been living in grindavik since i was born. so this has been happening time to time. but this is the first time we are having such powerful earthquakes so frequently. earthquakes are common in iceland because it straddles two of the earth's tectonic plates. in 2010, the explosive eruption of a more southerly volcano caused huge disruption in international air travel, affecting as many as 10 million travellers. but if any eruption occurs this time, it's thought lava will emerge more slowly from a crack in the surface, so it's unlikely to cause the same chaos. in case of an eruption,

we are expecting a small one, yes. but lava is flowing, we are not expecting a large explosive eruption, with minimal impact on atmosphere, flights, and living conditions for people. as the ground awakens after 800 years, people await the outcome of this seismic storm. isabella allen, bbc news. peace in iraq will take time to flourish, but this visitor movie theaters in new york city have reopened after being closed for the better part of the past year due to the coronavirus pandemic. cinemas will be allowed to operate at 25% capacity. customers must wear masks and obey social distancing rules, and are encouraged to use disinfectant wipes and sanitisers. here's the reaction from some of the moviegoers. it feels amazing, it feels really good. i'm excited. i decided to not work today and ijust came to a theatre. as soon as i read that movie theatres were open, i got a ticket literally ten minutes later. well, it feels great,

especially after so much time. you know, i don't subscribe to any streaming services, so, and i always love to see movies on a big screen with great sound, so it feels so good to be back. well, i was walking - by and saw the lights on. i had to come in and see. the beginning - of the end, hooray! we are really- excited about this. let's hope it's over, 0k? syd ney�*s sydney's famous mardi gras celebrations have gone ahead despite the pandemic. the event, as you can see, was scaled back for the first time in four decades. instead of a dazzling parade through park street, about 36,000 people gathered inside sydney's cricket ground. mardi gras house parties have been limited this year to 50 people. australian police warned of jail or heavy fines for any rule breakers. at least there was some celebration. more on our website,

was some celebration. more on ourwebsite, bbc was some celebration. more on our website, bbc news. was some celebration. more on ourwebsite, bbc news. let was some celebration. more on our website, bbc news. let me know what you are up to. hello there. saturday was a disappointingly cold and cloudy day for many of us, and disappointing temperatures for early march. a bit of sunshine across western areas but it's looking like sunday is going to be a bit of a repeat performance, it is going to stay chilly with limited sunny breaks and quite a bit of cloud around. the settled conditions are because of this area of high pressure, which will continue to bring settled weather through sunday, but it's slowly going to lose its grip on our weather as we head on to the start of next week. so, early to sunday, it's going to be cold and under clear skies we will see some frost and mist and fog about and there will be patchy rain to northern and western scotland, a bit of snow over the high ground, but where we have the cloud, 4—6 degrees here versus sub—zero further south.

so a cold start to sunday. some early sunshine around, with some frost and a bit of mist and fog, but it looks like the clouds will tend to build again into the afternoon, so turning grey and cold for many. further rain for the north and west of scotland, temperatures year one degree or so up, 9 or 10 degrees, but also 7 or 8. and then on sunday night it will turn cold again on central and southern areas under clear skies, some further frost here but less cold further north, because we will have more cloud, showery bursts of rain also affecting up to the north into monday. so northern ireland, scotland and parts of northern england, there will be a bit of sunshine around as well. after a cold start further south, some brightness around but also cloud here and there. temperatures one degree or so up across the board, nine or ten will be be high. into tuesday, the first of the weather fronts starting to move in. this one is a weak feature bringing no more than a band of cloud, with a bit of light rain on it. cloudy skies to northern and western areas initially, sunnier skies in central, southern and eastern areas after a cooler start, and the wind picking up from the south—west. temperatures again 9, 10, maybe 11. cast your eyes out west, this massive rate is tied

in with a deep area of low pressure, something we haven't seen in a while. that will sweep through tuesday night into wednesday and we could see another deep area of low pressure potentially moving in wednesday into thursday. these areas of low pressure will also bring up some mild air from the south—west. certainly for england and wales. it's certainly looking very stormy from mid—week onwards, with some heavy rain and the potential of severe gales and slightly less cold air for some of us.

this is bbc news, the headlines: president biden has welcomed a senate vote to approve his covid recovery plan. the bill, worth nearly two trillion dollars, will return to the house of representatives for approval within days. republican senators were united in opposing the draft legislation, dismissing the bill as an unaffordable wish—list. the visit of pope francis to iraq, has continued with a public mass at a cathedral in baghdad. he praised the resilience of iraq's remaining christians, whose numbers have plummeted in the past two decades. earleir the pontiff held an unprecedented meeting with iraq's senior shia religious leader. in myanmar there have been further allegations of police brutality, after security forces used stun grenades and tear gas against anti—coup protesters, who have again taken to the streets. the un's special envoy on myanmar has told the security council that there is urgency for collective action.

now on bbc news, dateline london.